In a prior blog, I dared to dream of a church dedicated to Christian education, and based on the roles as expressed in Ephesians 4:7-16. In keeping with that, I saw five pastoral roles. Today, lets look at those roles and how the conative styles as I have described them fit, especially in light of Ephesians 4:11.

Preaching and Worship Pastor. Responsible for the proclamation of the word and the organization and administration of the worship service. Best suited for people with the drive to persuade, as their primary job is to communicate the Word to the body, and to develop devotionals and messages to encourage and uplift the congregation throughout the week. I would associate this role with the προφήτας (translated as prophet).

Administrative and Counseling Pastor. Responsible to ensure that the church as a whole are moving in the same direction, and for organizing the people and processes of the church around and toward the vision as cast by the elders. Best suited for people with the drive to organize, as their primary job is to lead and manage the organization. I would associate this role with the ποιμένας (translated as pastor, but with a meaning of shepherd).

Teaching and Discipleship Pastor. Responsible for the teaching and developmental ministries of the church, as well as ensuring that the church does indeed produce disciples. Best suited for people with the drive to explain, as their primary job is to oversee the educational aspects of the congregation. I would associate this role with the διδασκάλους (translated as teachers).

Evangelism and Outreach Pastor. Responsible for guiding and carrying out the individual and group evangelistic activities, as well as outreach and benevolence in general. Best suited for people with the drive to act as their job is to do the work of the evangelist. I would associate this role with the εὐαγγελιστάς (translated as evangelist).

Research and Scholarship Pastor. Responsible for assisting with sermon preparation, evaluation of ministry effectiveness, and researching best practices for carrying out ministry. Also designated to go out and represent the church at special events. Best suited for people with the drive to understand as their job is essentially to act as research assistant and quality assurance. I would associate this role with the ἀποστόλους (translated apostle).

While each pastor as a point of responsibility and strength, do not understand these strengths to be exclusive. All pastors would preach, would teach, would counsel, would prepare sermons, would evangelist. One point I hope you see is that we expect senior pastors to accomplish all of these at once when it’s impossible (or highly unlikely) to find one person (a) good at all of these and (b) with a primary drive to do all of these. Also, I don’t suggest that any one of these needs to be THE guy in charge, and certainly not necessarily the preaching pastor (at best, you could say the Administrative pastor). Consider, for a moment, if these five pastors were the elders of a church, or were five of the twelve (just to pick a number) elders of a church.

We often claim the Biblical title for our churches. Let’s try to actually achieve it.